McLellan’s marathon matches

THE Edinburgh Evening News editor, John McLellan, loves his rugby. In fact, he used to play at a pretty high level – including appearing for the Watsonian’s first XV.

These days, it’s a little less intense; indeed, he’s likely to be ‘calling it a day’ at the end of this season, as neck and knee injuries finally take their toll.

But it didn’t stop him playing 110 minutes of rugby on Saturday – comprising a full game for the thirds (versus Preston Lodge, in a league match that ended in a 70-12 win) plus three-by-ten-minute games in a ten-a-side tournament (twice for the fourths and once for Edinburgh Accies, who were short of a player).

“I don’t think I’ve ever before played 110 minutes of rugby in an afternoon, never mind at the age of 46,” he told allmediascotland.com.